Summary: The School of the Future (SOF) project is a unique partnership between the School District of Philadelphia and Microsoft Corp. to create a sustainable and replicable model for improved instruction and systemic reform through the use of organizational best practices and innovations in curriculum, architecture, environmental and technology design.
Location: 4021 Parkside Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.
Learners: The public high school will enroll about 750 students by lottery. Seventy-five percent will be from the surrounding community; 25 percent will be from other areas.
The Class of 2010: The class of 2010, entering in September 2006, consists of 170 students. Class demographics include the following:
• Gender distribution: 54 percent female, 46 percent male
• Racial distribution: 98.8 percent minority (non-Caucasian, 1.1 percent Caucasian (two students)
• Economics: Approximately 85 percent of students come from low-income families.
• Special needs:
– Approximately 12 percent of the students have special needs
School Leadership:
Paul Vallas, chief executive officer, School District of Philadelphia
Ellen Savitz, chief development officer, Philadelphia School District
Shirley Grover, principal and chief learner, School of the Future
Jim Nevels, chairman, Philadelphia School Reform Commission
Major Innovations: The School of the Future features these and other innovations:
• The Philadelphia School of the Future is the first urban high school built with the world’s leading software company. It was completed on a traditional budget and incorporates the best technology solutions to facilitate comprehensive educational reform.
– Opening doors for all, not a select few. (Class of 2010: 85 percent are from low-income families, 98.8 percent are minorities, 12 percent have special needs). There are no academic or discipline performance requirements for admittance. Students who live in the area have the opportunity to attend.
– The economic impact of the building of the school is already being realized, with housing prices in the area increasing 10 percent since the school broke ground and more than 1,500 students from out of the immediate area applying for spaces available to them.
– Eventually, through the “Wireless Philadelphia” effort, students will be able to connect to the Internet from home. Until that project is completed, however, the district will subsidize Internet access for every student, ensuring access to high-speed broadband and ubiquitous connectivity throughout the day.
– Every student will be given a laptop or an ultra-mobile PC, which is unique in today’s urban high schools.
– Graduation requirement: In order to graduate, all students must complete and submit an application for college.
• World’s first Virtual Teaching Assistant
– This was created specifically for the Philadelphia School of the Future and is the first deployment of its kind anywhere.
– Software allows teachers to distribute ad hoc assessments during class to gauge where learners are in their comprehension of the concepts being discussed.
– It eliminates the need for all learners to turn the page at the same time and allows learners to work at their own pace. Teachers can give assessments during class via computer. Depending on each student’s assessment result, the teacher will point learners who do well to resources that will challenge them and will provide remediation resources to learners who have not advanced as quickly.
• A Silver LEED-certified high school, demonstrating unsurpassed attention to environmental design and construction
– The school will have a water catchment system on the roof, where rainwater will be collected in a cistern, filtered and used for nonpotable applications such as toilet water and boiler water.
– Cabinets were made from the few trees that had to be removed from the site.
– Photovoltaic panels in the glass windows and roof will also reduce heating and cooling costs by converting sunlight into a direct current, contributing a small percentage of the electricity for the building.
– Photoelectric glass will not only generate a portion of the building’s power supply but also will transmit real-time data for students so they can see how much energy is being generated and the positive impact that has on the environment.
– The auditorium’s roof will be covered with vegetation to shield it from ultraviolet rays, both extending its lifetime and insulating it.
– An ice-storage system that makes ice during off-peak hours will be used to cool the building.
• Smart cards for every student: smart building, smart food court and smart locker
– Digital lockers are secure and accessible through smart cards. There are no combinations to remember.
– Students will swipe their cards for entrance and access to everything — from the food court and the Interactive Learning Center (ILC) to their online log-in.
– By tracking food purchased for lunches, smart cards help track caloric intake and provide data on diet and nutrition (scheduled to take effect in the second semester).
• Working with leading education experts, the SOF offers a schedule designed for how kids learn
– School day hours are 9:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m. based on studies that show students do better with later starts. The school day is project-oriented rather than oriented to traditional classroom or seated time. Class scheduling is based on changing appointments rather than following the same schedule every day.
– Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served.
– Before school: 7–9:30 a.m. will be used as study time, project time, meal time and general gathering time.
– After school: 4:30–10 p.m. will be used for extended learning time for students and the community.
• Interactive, media-rich classrooms and Interactive Learning Center
– Unencumbered access to expertise will be gained by providing learners and teachers with access to streaming media content on a variety of subjects, from a variety of content experts. No longer limited due to their location, these experts can be brought into the classroom, or home, whenever the learner or teacher needs access to them.
– ILC replaces traditional library (and textbook use). Students can access resources throughout the building and from home. The ILC allows for community members to access these resources as well.
– Space is designed to support ad-hoc collaboration and informal learning opportunities.
– Administrators will be able to deliver announcements through live video broadcasts that each student can watch on their laptops or device, and share in videoconferences with personnel from other schools.
– Students and teachers can access curriculum while in the building or at home.
– A complete multimedia encyclopedia and study tools will be installed on students’ computers for use at all times.
– Students will be able to customize their portal to give them content that is immediate and relevant.
• Encouraging active participation through unique approaches to collaboration
– An improved identity management system identifies users by their role as student, teacher, administrator or community member, and knows what information they should have access to. The system pushes that information to the users without them having to search for it.
– Web-based portals will allow the entire user community to have access to the school.
– All portal users will be able to search the entire district for content that they are authorized to view. Regardless of where it is physically stored or how it is organized, users will have quick access to information.
– Through collaboration tools such as shared folders, blogs, e-mail and instant messaging, all community stakeholders will be able to exchange ideas and information when and where they need to.
• Community-based learning environment
– A performance center can be used for school productions, for student education and by the community. Its two rotating lecture halls have 100 seats each. These dual-use lecture halls rotate on a hydraulic system to create small performing spaces that can be used by the school and the community, allowing the center to be used every day, not just for big events.
– The school is built to take advantage of local resources including a nearby park, museum, universities and zoo.
– In the evenings, the school will be available to the community so resources, technology and facilities can be leveraged for learning and other activities.
Cost: $63 million. Funding for the project is provided by the School District of Philadelphia’s capital program, with additional support and technical assistance through Microsoft’s Partners in Learning initiative.
Microsoft’s Contribution: Microsoft provided human capital, strategic planning tools, organizational best practices and access to its network of international thought leaders. It also funded the creation of a leadership development tool that is available to any school organization in the world. Microsoft did not donate equipment, software or money to build this school because that kind of large infusion of free resources is not realistic for any school organization.
Organizational Expertise
• Strategic planning tools
– Facilitated six-phase development process
• Organizational best practices
– Strategic planning guidance and vision
– Sustainability philosophy
– Budgeting philosophy
– Competency-based approach to hiring and people development (Education Competency Wheel)
• Leadership development resources
– Access to Lominger Ltd.
– Education Competency Wheel
• Access to Microsoft’s network of international thought leaders
– Access to government education leaders around the world and academics who study and research the science of education
– Host of the Worldwide School of the Future Summit including more than 200 education leaders representing 30 countries to discuss research-based innovation in education and key learnings from the Philadelphia school project
Human Capital
• Consultative resources and dedicated project management
– Mary Cullinane (project manager) and Rob Stevens (IT architecture)
– 45 additional employees contributed to the project throughout its development.
Education Competency Wheel:
A significant outcome of the ongoing collaboration, the Education Competency Wheel, the first tool developed from the collaboration, is available to all school districts.
• The Education Competency Wheel is a set of guideposts for achieving educational excellence that centers on identifying and nurturing the right talents in a district’s employees, partners and students.
• Modeled on the set of hiring and professional development competencies that Microsoft has adopted across its worldwide organization, the Education Competency Wheel now in use by Philadelphia schools evolved out of a yearlong process that included extensive input from district teachers as well as parents and students.
• Philadelphia school officials recently began using the Education Competency Wheel and related materials to guide hiring decisions and professional development activities throughout the district.
• The Education Competency Wheel reflects the skills that students will need when they get out of school, so it is essential for teachers and administrators to model these competencies
• The Education Competency Wheel materials are posted on the Microsoft® Education Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/default.mspx for other school districts to adapt and use in creating their own competencies.
Related Links:
Microsoft School of the Future: http://www.microsoft.com/education/SchoolofFuture.mspx
U.S. Partners in Learning: http://www.microsoft.com/USPIL
Microsoft in Education: http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx
School District of Philadelphia: http://www.phila.k12.pa.us
Education Competency Wheel: http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/default.mspx
Virtual Pressroom: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/sotf/default.mspx
• Press kit
• Still photos
• Sound on tape (SOT) or B-roll package
#########
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, press only:
Geri Ann Baptista, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (425) 638-7000, geriannb@waggeneredstrom.com
Fernando Gallard, School District of Philadelphia, (215) 400-6349, fagallard@phila.k12.pa.us
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
School of the Future
Fact Sheet
September 2006
Summary: The School of the Future (SOF) project is a unique partnership between the School District of Philadelphia and Microsoft Corp. to create a sustainable and replicable model for improved instruction and systemic reform through the use of organizational best practices and innovations in curriculum, architecture, environmental and technology design.
Location: 4021 Parkside Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.
Learners: The public high school will enroll about 750 students by lottery. Seventy-five percent will be from the surrounding community; 25 percent will be from other areas.
The Class of 2010: The class of 2010, entering in September 2006, consists of 170 students. Class demographics include the following:
• Gender distribution: 54 percent female, 46 percent male
• Racial distribution: 98.8 percent minority (non-Caucasian, 1.1 percent Caucasian (two students)
• Economics: Approximately 85 percent of students come from low-income families.
• Special needs:
– Approximately 12 percent of the students have special needs
School Leadership:
Paul Vallas, chief executive officer, School District of Philadelphia
Ellen Savitz, chief development officer, Philadelphia School District
Shirley Grover, principal and chief learner, School of the Future
Jim Nevels, chairman, Philadelphia School Reform Commission
Major Innovations: The School of the Future features these and other innovations:
• The Philadelphia School of the Future is the first urban high school built with the world’s leading software company. It was completed on a traditional budget and incorporates the best technology solutions to facilitate comprehensive educational reform.
– Opening doors for all, not a select few. (Class of 2010: 85 percent are from low-income families, 98.8 percent are minorities, 12 percent have special needs). There are no academic or discipline performance requirements for admittance. Students who live in the area have the opportunity to attend.
– The economic impact of the building of the school is already being realized, with housing prices in the area increasing 10 percent since the school broke ground and more than 1,500 students from out of the immediate area applying for spaces available to them.
– Eventually, through the “Wireless Philadelphia” effort, students will be able to connect to the Internet from home. Until that project is completed, however, the district will subsidize Internet access for every student, ensuring access to high-speed broadband and ubiquitous connectivity throughout the day.
– Every student will be given a laptop or an ultra-mobile PC, which is unique in today’s urban high schools.
– Graduation requirement: In order to graduate, all students must complete and submit an application for college.
• World’s first Virtual Teaching Assistant
– This was created specifically for the Philadelphia School of the Future and is the first deployment of its kind anywhere.
– Software allows teachers to distribute ad hoc assessments during class to gauge where learners are in their comprehension of the concepts being discussed.
– It eliminates the need for all learners to turn the page at the same time and allows learners to work at their own pace. Teachers can give assessments during class via computer. Depending on each student’s assessment result, the teacher will point learners who do well to resources that will challenge them and will provide remediation resources to learners who have not advanced as quickly.
• A Silver LEED-certified high school, demonstrating unsurpassed attention to environmental design and construction
– The school will have a water catchment system on the roof, where rainwater will be collected in a cistern, filtered and used for nonpotable applications such as toilet water and boiler water.
– Cabinets were made from the few trees that had to be removed from the site.
– Photovoltaic panels in the glass windows and roof will also reduce heating and cooling costs by converting sunlight into a direct current, contributing a small percentage of the electricity for the building.
– Photoelectric glass will not only generate a portion of the building’s power supply but also will transmit real-time data for students so they can see how much energy is being generated and the positive impact that has on the environment.
– The auditorium’s roof will be covered with vegetation to shield it from ultraviolet rays, both extending its lifetime and insulating it.
– An ice-storage system that makes ice during off-peak hours will be used to cool the building.
• Smart cards for every student: smart building, smart food court and smart locker
– Digital lockers are secure and accessible through smart cards. There are no combinations to remember.
– Students will swipe their cards for entrance and access to everything — from the food court and the Interactive Learning Center (ILC) to their online log-in.
– By tracking food purchased for lunches, smart cards help track caloric intake and provide data on diet and nutrition (scheduled to take effect in the second semester).
• Working with leading education experts, the SOF offers a schedule designed for how kids learn
– School day hours are 9:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m. based on studies that show students do better with later starts. The school day is project-oriented rather than oriented to traditional classroom or seated time. Class scheduling is based on changing appointments rather than following the same schedule every day.
– Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served.
– Before school: 7–9:30 a.m. will be used as study time, project time, meal time and general gathering time.
– After school: 4:30–10 p.m. will be used for extended learning time for students and the community.
• Interactive, media-rich classrooms and Interactive Learning Center
– Unencumbered access to expertise will be gained by providing learners and teachers with access to streaming media content on a variety of subjects, from a variety of content experts. No longer limited due to their location, these experts can be brought into the classroom, or home, whenever the learner or teacher needs access to them.
– ILC replaces traditional library (and textbook use). Students can access resources throughout the building and from home. The ILC allows for community members to access these resources as well.
– Space is designed to support ad-hoc collaboration and informal learning opportunities.
– Administrators will be able to deliver announcements through live video broadcasts that each student can watch on their laptops or device, and share in videoconferences with personnel from other schools.
– Students and teachers can access curriculum while in the building or at home.
– A complete multimedia encyclopedia and study tools will be installed on students’ computers for use at all times.
– Students will be able to customize their portal to give them content that is immediate and relevant.
• Encouraging active participation through unique approaches to collaboration
– An improved identity management system identifies users by their role as student, teacher, administrator or community member, and knows what information they should have access to. The system pushes that information to the users without them having to search for it.
– Web-based portals will allow the entire user community to have access to the school.
– All portal users will be able to search the entire district for content that they are authorized to view. Regardless of where it is physically stored or how it is organized, users will have quick access to information.
– Through collaboration tools such as shared folders, blogs, e-mail and instant messaging, all community stakeholders will be able to exchange ideas and information when and where they need to.
• Community-based learning environment
– A performance center can be used for school productions, for student education and by the community. Its two rotating lecture halls have 100 seats each. These dual-use lecture halls rotate on a hydraulic system to create small performing spaces that can be used by the school and the community, allowing the center to be used every day, not just for big events.
– The school is built to take advantage of local resources including a nearby park, museum, universities and zoo.
– In the evenings, the school will be available to the community so resources, technology and facilities can be leveraged for learning and other activities.
Cost: $63 million. Funding for the project is provided by the School District of Philadelphia’s capital program, with additional support and technical assistance through Microsoft’s Partners in Learning initiative.
Microsoft’s Contribution: Microsoft provided human capital, strategic planning tools, organizational best practices and access to its network of international thought leaders. It also funded the creation of a leadership development tool that is available to any school organization in the world. Microsoft did not donate equipment, software or money to build this school because that kind of large infusion of free resources is not realistic for any school organization.
Organizational Expertise
• Strategic planning tools
– Facilitated six-phase development process
• Organizational best practices
– Strategic planning guidance and vision
– Sustainability philosophy
– Budgeting philosophy
– Competency-based approach to hiring and people development (Education Competency Wheel)
• Leadership development resources
– Access to Lominger Ltd.
– Education Competency Wheel
• Access to Microsoft’s network of international thought leaders
– Access to government education leaders around the world and academics who study and research the science of education
– Host of the Worldwide School of the Future Summit including more than 200 education leaders representing 30 countries to discuss research-based innovation in education and key learnings from the Philadelphia school project
Human Capital
• Consultative resources and dedicated project management
– Mary Cullinane (project manager) and Rob Stevens (IT architecture)
– 45 additional employees contributed to the project throughout its development.
Education Competency Wheel:
A significant outcome of the ongoing collaboration, the Education Competency Wheel, the first tool developed from the collaboration, is available to all school districts.
• The Education Competency Wheel is a set of guideposts for achieving educational excellence that centers on identifying and nurturing the right talents in a district’s employees, partners and students.
• Modeled on the set of hiring and professional development competencies that Microsoft has adopted across its worldwide organization, the Education Competency Wheel now in use by Philadelphia schools evolved out of a yearlong process that included extensive input from district teachers as well as parents and students.
• Philadelphia school officials recently began using the Education Competency Wheel and related materials to guide hiring decisions and professional development activities throughout the district.
• The Education Competency Wheel reflects the skills that students will need when they get out of school, so it is essential for teachers and administrators to model these competencies
• The Education Competency Wheel materials are posted on the Microsoft® Education Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/default.mspx for other school districts to adapt and use in creating their own competencies.
Related Links:
Microsoft School of the Future: http://www.microsoft.com/education/SchoolofFuture.mspx
U.S. Partners in Learning: http://www.microsoft.com/USPIL
Microsoft in Education: http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx
School District of Philadelphia: http://www.phila.k12.pa.us
Education Competency Wheel: http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/default.mspx
Virtual Pressroom: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/sotf/default.mspx
• Press kit
• Still photos
• Sound on tape (SOT) or B-roll package
#########
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, press only:
Geri Ann Baptista, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (425) 638-7000, geriannb@waggeneredstrom.com
Fernando Gallard, School District of Philadelphia, (215) 400-6349, fagallard@phila.k12.pa.us
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com